Somboon Jeamsakul, 63, said that he and the others had SorPorKor farming rights on the land.
SorPorKor papers allow people to occupy the specified piece of land for farming only. The land may not be sold or rented out, and the rights may be assigned only to the holder’s heirs.
But, said Mr Somboon, a former senior police officer of Phuket had his eye on the 423 rai of land occupied by the 20 people and had tried to buy it from them.
When they refused, on the grounds that it was public land they could not sell legally, a campaign of intimidation began, with the villagers being threatened by armed men who appeared to be Burmese, and had, he believed, been hired to frighten the locals.
The locals complained to the Governor’s office.
Gov Maitri said, “I have already ask Royal Forestry Department’s Conservation Section to look into this issue.
“This area has been planted with sator, durian, mangosteen and rubber trees for a long time. The SorPorKor rights were issued in 1998.
“First, we will not allow anyone to intimidate local people. If they do, they will be reported to the assistant district officer of kathu.
“Second, no one is allowed to encroach on Forestry land.
“Third, if anyone does trespass on Forestry land and intimidates local people, legal action will be taken against them.”
He also asked the local people to try to collect evidence – voice recordings, photos or videos – of the people sent to intimidate them, so that they can be identified.
He also advised them to be sure not to plant anything beyond the borders defined in their SorPorKor papers.